Joint military drill amid violent crackdown – The armies of China, Russia, Iran
and Syria
are planning to hold naval maneuvers in the Mediterranean Sea over the next few weeks, Iranian news agency Fars reported Tuesday.

According to the report, 90,000 soldiers from the four countries will take part in the large-scale maritime war games, which will be held off the Syrian coastline.

The
military maneuvers will include naval and anti-aircraft forces, as well as 400 aircraft, 900 tanks, Iranian submarines, minesweepers, warships and Russian destroyers.

Russian MIG fighter jet used by Syrian army (Photo: CC Cropbot)

The report also stated that Egypt
has agreed to allow 12 Chinese warships to pass through the Suez Canal, adding that the military convoy is scheduled to dock in Syrian ports over the next two weeks.

Meanwhile, negotiations
between the six powers and Iran are not yielding progress, and could end sooner than scheduled. Russian and Iranian diplomats speaking to the press hours after talks kicked off in Moscow said that the sides are grappling to iron out differences and that the atmosphere was "not positive."

The EU delegation spokesman told reporters that world powers were sticking by a previous demand for Iran to halt enriching uranium to 20% – a level approaching that needed to make an atomic bomb.